Ming Dynasty: I, Zhu Yunwen, started by resurrecting my grandmother.

Midnight.

"Thief!"

Xuanfa was fast asleep in his room when he suddenly heard a commotion outside the door.

He woke up with a start.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked out the window.

A group of people arrived at the door, led by a high-ranking official. Strangely, there was a very pretty girl beside him.

Xuanfa wondered, "Where did this thief come from?"

The high-ranking official who arrived was none other than Yu Qian, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and the beautiful woman was Zhao Ning'er.

"Surround it, don't let the thief get away!"

Yu Qian brandished his waist knife and gave a loud command.

"promise!"

The soldiers under his command agreed.

The soldiers swarmed around the houses where Xuanfa and the other monks lived.

Xuanfa was also puzzled, thinking, "If you're catching thieves, why are you surrounding our house?"

Zhao Ning'er said to Yu Qian, "Uncle Yu, my mother has saved up such a small dowry for me since I was a child. I never expected that it would disappear overnight."

My mother cried with heartache, that's why I came to you for help.

"Oh, it's nothing. I wonder what things you've lost."

"Not much, including a luminous pearl, three agates, five bracelets, a hundred catties of gold, and several thousand taels of silver," Zhao Ning'er recounted as if listing treasures.

Upon hearing this, Yu Qian thought to himself, "Your dowry is quite substantial."

"Uncle Yu, you must help me get it back."

I heard it was these bald monks who did it. Arrest them all, chop off their hands and feed them to the dogs!

"The monks of Jiming Temple are nothing but a bunch of petty thieves and scoundrels. What are they trying to save? They should save themselves first." Zhao Ning'er pointed at the monks.

Upon hearing this, Xuanfa thought to himself that this girl had really given them a hard time.

At this moment, four soldiers kicked open Xuanfa's door: "Search! Stand aside! Behave yourselves!"

Xuanfa stood aside in fright, chanting, "Amitabha!"

A moment later, one of the tall soldiers shouted, "Sir, we found two large boxes under his bed."

"Bring it out!"

"promise!"

Xuanfa was also stunned when he heard this.

He wondered where those two large trunks came from under his bed.

After the four soldiers carried out the two large boxes, they opened them and found that the contents were exactly as Zhao Ning'er had described.

"You audacious bald...monk, you dare to steal Miss Zhao's dowry under the guise of praying for the salvation of Crown Prince Yiwen! This is outrageous! Come here, tie him up!" When Yu Qian got angry, he was quite frightening.

Without a word, his soldiers rushed forward and tied Xuanfa's arms.

Xuanfa turned pale with fright and knelt down with a thud: "My lord, I am innocent! I have no idea how these two boxes ended up under my bed."

Zhao Ning'er inspected the items, then said to Yu Qian, "These thieving monks have been swindling and cheating their way into the palace..."

They originally thought they could help Prince Yiwen ascend to the celestial realm, but they never expected them to do such a despicable thing.

Now, the evidence is irrefutable. Uncle Yu, please castrate him.

Anyway, he's a bald monk, so keeping that thing around isn't very useful.

Upon hearing this, Xuanfa was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground.

Yu Qian frowned, thinking to himself, "Is this reasonable?"

He coughed and said, "Ning'er, step aside and I will make my own judgment."

"Yes, Uncle Yu."

Yu Qian looked sharply at Xuanfa: "What's your name?"

"My Buddhist name is Xuanfa."

"Hmm, what else did you steal? Confess now!"

"Since we came to this palace, we have been wholeheartedly devoted to praying for the soul of Crown Prince Yiwen, and we have never stolen anything."

At this moment, Xuanfa sensed that someone was trying to frame him, but he had no idea who it was.

"Sir, we've found quite a few good things."

"Oh, let me see it."

It turned out that the soldiers had also found ten jars of fine wine and more than a dozen roasted dog legs, beef legs, lamb legs, and pig trotters in the other monks' rooms.

It was all meat dishes.

Zhao Ning'er pointed at the monks and said, "So you're just a bunch of gluttonous monks. How can someone like you possibly help Prince Yiwen pass on to the afterlife?"

"You're not going to send him from heaven to hell, are you?"

The monks cried out, "Sir, we are innocent! We have never eaten meat or wine. We have no idea where these things came from!"

"You don't know? What a joke! Do you think these good things just grew legs and ran to your bedside?" Zhao Ning'er said, hands on her hips.

A fat monk said, "Female benefactor, we really don't know."

Tonight, we first held a memorial service for Prince Yiwen in front of the mourning hall. Later, we went back to sleep. Little did we expect that these things would be under our bed.

If we had known earlier, we would have eaten and drunk all that food and wine…

Well, this person spoke too quickly and let it slip.

Zhao Ning'er clapped her hands and laughed, "Yes, you're absolutely right. It's good to eat and drink everything clean."

"No... this humble monk... this humble monk meant to offer these things to Buddha."

Yes, it's offered to Buddha.

Seeing that they were all disheveled and with their chests exposed, Yu Qian knew they were no good, so he gave the order: "Take them all to the Dali Temple!"

"promise!"

The soldiers agreed.

It turns out that all of this was a scheme set up by Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Ning'er.

After Zhu Yunwen returned, he told Zhao Ning'er what he had seen and heard, and the two of them immediately decided to frame someone and pin the blame on them.

While the monks were performing a ritual in the mourning hall, they, along with several servants, stuffed the gold, silver, jewels, wine, and meat under the monks' beds.

Then, he went to Yu Qian to beat the drum and appeal for justice.

Yu Qian immediately gathered his men and rushed over.

At this moment, the system's voice rang in Zhu Yunwen's ears again: "Congratulations, host, you have successfully expelled those monks from the harem. Luck points increased by 3. Your current luck points are 6, which is enough to revive a family member."

Zhu Yunwen's heart leaped into his throat.

Zhu Yunwen rushed to Lady Lü's palace.

He had heard that Lady Lü was about to execute a girl named Ziwei because the Chagatai Khanate of the Western Regions had recently presented Lady Lü with a valuable white cat.

Tonight, the white cat is gone.

Lady Lü suspected that Ziwei had stolen the cat, so she wanted to sentence her to death.

Lady Lü's face was ashen, with two burly maids standing on either side of her.

Ziwei trembled with fear and knelt on the ground: "Empress Dowager, I really didn't steal that cat, please spare my life."

Because Xuanfa had not agreed to serve her that night, Lady Lü was filled with unspeakable anger: "You were the only one in the palace at the time. If you didn't steal it, who did?"

You're clearly just making excuses.

"I really didn't steal it. I saw that cat an hour ago."

"We've searched the entire palace, inside and out, but we still can't find that cat. You must have stolen it and sold it at the market, you lowly servant."

"Wang Chao, Ma Han, why aren't you making a move?" Lady Lü said sternly.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The so-called Wang Chao and Ma Han were two maids under Lü's command. The two were tall and strong, with broad shoulders and thick backs, and if you didn't look closely, you would think they were men.

They obeyed Lü's orders without question, doing whatever she commanded, even if it meant killing their own fathers.

Wang Chao pulled out a white silk ribbon from behind, about ten feet long, and wrapped it around Ziwei's neck.

Wang Chao and Ma Han pulled the white ribbon from opposite directions.

Ziwei suddenly couldn't breathe.

Seeing that Ziwei was about to die on the spot, Zhu Yunwen shouted, "Stop!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Lü was also taken aback, because her attention was entirely focused on Ziwei, and she hadn't expected there to be someone outside.

Zhu Yunwen strode in from outside, head held high and chest out.

When Wang Chao and Ma Han saw Zhu Yunwen arrive, they dared not continue the execution.

Because they were also somewhat afraid of Zhu Yunwen, and they knew that what they were doing was against the rules.

They stared at Lady Lü, waiting for her to issue her final decree.

Zhu Yunwen approached Lady Lü and bowed, saying, "Yunwen greets the Empress Dowager."

Lady Lü turned around and carefully examined Zhu Yunwen. She found that Zhu Yunwen was very different from before. In her memory, when Zhu Yunwen was young, he was simple-minded and foolish, never saying a word, and often snotty-nosed.

Unexpectedly, he fell ill a while ago and was in a coma for several days. When he woke up, he was like a completely different person.

The man before me, Zhu Yunwen, was tall and handsome, with well-defined features, a cold and resolute demeanor, an imposing presence, and a spirited air. His brows exuded a commanding presence, and his eyes were bright and piercing.

Lady Lü suppressed her anger: "Who do we have here? It's Yunhuo."

"What brings you here?"

Zhu Yunwen remained calm: "I heard that the Empress Dowager invited monks from Jiming Temple to perform a ritual for my father's soul. I am deeply grateful, so I came to pay my respects."

I came to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager, but I didn't expect to encounter this."

Lady Lü thought to herself, "When you were little, you and your brother Zhu Xiong Ying often bullied our Yunwen. Yunwen suffered terribly from being bullied by you two. Do you think I didn't know that?"

Finally, when Yunwen ascended the throne,

That's why I had Yunwen issue an edict stripping you of your official rank and title, and then I killed you. But you miraculously survived.

You are nothing but a commoner now, what right do you have to speak to me?

Thinking of this, Lady Lü straightened her back considerably.

"Yunyi, has your title been restored?" Lady Lü asked deliberately.

"No, not at all," Zhu Yunwen turned to look at Ziwei, "I'd like to know what crime this young lady has committed to anger the Empress Dowager so much?"

"Don't forget who you are."

"Since your title has not been restored, then you are just a commoner. What right do you have to interfere in my affairs?" Lady Lü's tone was somewhat impatient, and at the same time, it carried contempt.

Zhu Yunwen understood her meaning: "Even the emperor should listen to the voices of the people from time to time."

"you!"

However, no one expected that

At this moment, a noblewoman walked in from outside: "Lady Lü, now that you're the Empress Dowager, things have gotten out of hand. He has no right to speak to you, so do I have any right to speak to you?"

When Zhu Yunwen heard that long-lost yet familiar voice, his heart almost jumped out of his chest.

Everyone glanced at the woman and saw that she was tall, dressed in gorgeous clothes, adorned with jewels, with fair skin, a slender neck, and graceful and elegant demeanor.

If not the Chang family, then who is it?

Zhu Yunwen rushed to her side and knelt down, asking, "Mother, is it really you?"

Madam Chang hugged Zhu Yunwen tightly, sobbing, "My good child, I've missed you so much."

"Where have you been all these years?"

"It's a long story, it feels like a dream to me. Please get up." Zhu Yunwen stood up and stood behind his mother.

Lü Shi has been feeling uncertain lately.

She first heard that Empress Ma had come back to life, and not long after that, Chang Yuchun also came back to life, but neither of them seemed to be very satisfied with her.

Her heart pounded. Could it be that there really are ghosts and gods in this world?

At this moment, seeing Chang Shi suddenly appear before her, she felt a chill run down her spine. Back then, when Chang Shi was alive, she had always been one step ahead of her.

Chang was Zhu Biao's principal wife, while she was only Zhu Biao's concubine. She could never change this mindset.

Madam Lü stared wide-eyed at Madam Chang: "Are you a human or a ghost?"

Madam Chang smiled slightly, revealing her neat and white teeth: "What do you think, little sister?"

"What brings you here?" Madam Lü asked, looking at her with great suspicion.

"I heard that the young lady has become the Empress Dowager, so I came to offer my congratulations."

Lady Lü thought to herself, "Now that I've become Empress Dowager, I've taken your place. No wonder you hate me so much. Back then, when you gave birth to Zhu Yunwen, you had a difficult labor, suffered severe bleeding, and were unconscious for many days. We all thought you..."

"You thought I was dead, didn't you?"

"Yes, so later Zhu Biao promoted me to the position."

Now, Zhu Biao has been dead for six years, and my son Zhu Yunwen has succeeded him as emperor.

So, I naturally became the Empress Dowager, and you can't blame me for that.

In order to help Zhu Biao pass on to the afterlife and ascend to the celestial realm as soon as possible, I invited a monk to perform a ritual…” Madam Lü said this with some unease.

Of course, she felt that outsiders should not know about her relationship with the monk Xuanfa.

However, before she could finish speaking, Chang Shi had already passed out.

"mother!"

This startled Zhu Yunwen, who quickly pounded her chest and patted her back. After a long while, Chang Shi finally calmed down.

With tears in her eyes, she said to Zhu Yunwen, "I never imagined that your father would die so young."

Looking back, six years ago, he was only thirty-eight years old, the prime of his life. How could he be gone?

Zhu Yunwen thought to himself, "Why are you in such a hurry, old man? I'll revive him when I have the chance later, and that'll be fine."

However, he thought this in his heart but couldn't say it aloud: "Mother, you don't need to be too sad. You'll see him again sooner or later."

Ok?

Chang thought to herself, "How can this child talk like that? I've just come back to life, and you want me to go see your father again?"